“Tell them what? About what the omegas did?” Jasmine asked.
“The truth of everything we haven’t told them yet. About the warning system. About the darkness and everything we’ve tried. It’s time we open up and try to get some additional insights. Maybe other omegas in the pack will have ideas,” Owen said.
I drew my hands through my hair. “I don’t like it, but I don’t see any other choice, either.”
The crowd outside was getting restless, with a few of the warriors starting to jostle each other. We didn’t have time to stand and debate, so I nodded at Owen. He took a deep breath and stepped outside. Jasmine and I started to follow, but the priestess held us back.
“I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but I found a new tome in our archives. It seems to have something to do with omegas, and it might be useful.”
“After this meeting is done, maybe we can copy a few pages for me to take home and study tonight,” Jasmine said.
The priestess gave her a tight-lipped smile. “I have my nuns photocopying it as we speak.”
The door opened. Owen gestured for us to join him, his face grim. “They say they have questions for Jasmine.”
My wolf growled in my chest when I saw the looks on the warriors’ faces. I wrapped one arm around Jasmine as we went out together.
“What did you do to us?” one of the warriors shouted, instantly destroying any hope we had of this being a calm discussion.
I drew Jasmine back.
“The fucking omegas did this,” another of the warriors said, pointing at Jasmine. “And she’s their leader. She’s their queen!”
“That is not—” Owen started.
Four warriors shifted to wolf form and dashed at us, eyes turning black as they locked on Jasmine. I quickly moved to defend her, shifting to my wolf form. We clashed, fur flying as I tore into the attackers. Owen joined me. One of the warriors snapped his jaws around my face, and I shoved him off, then grabbed hold of his shoulder. My teeth tore through, and blood filled my mouth.
Other warriors in the pack rushed forward to help us. The fight was over quickly, and I shifted back to human form, glancing over the scene. Most of the omegas had run away. Jasmine had gone back into the college, standing with the priestess as she stared, wide-eyed.
As I gazed at her, I couldn’t help but feel betrayed. She’d run back to safety rather than helping us.
“Renz?”
A hand dropped onto my shoulder. I whirled, my fist slamming into Owen’s face. Beyond him, Jasmine pressed both hands to her mouth, eyes wide. The need to protect her still thrummed in my veins, but I felt something else, something darker. The desire for bloodshed. It was going to take me.
I ripped off my belt, looped it around my body, and shoved my arms beneath the band. “Tighten it,” I ordered.
Owen didn’t hesitate. He tightened and buckled the belt, then took off his own to add it. Red washed over my vision, and I snarled, my teeth lengthening into fangs.
My gaze snapped to Jasmine. “I love you,” I blurted, holding on to that love as everything rapidly dissolved inside of me. “You keep fighting this. You can save us, Jasmine. It’s not over yet.”
Chapter 23 - Owen
Renz went for Jasmine, teeth bared. I shoved him back, kicking his feet out from under him. He went down and snarled, spinning back around as he tried to get to his feet. His eyes turned black, and my heart snapped inside my chest. His arms bulged against the belt, a flimsy hold against his strength. I flipped him onto his stomach and pushed my hand over his eyes, blocking Jasmine from his view.
He still thrashed and snarled, but not as intensely. I filed that away as I straddled him, keeping him pinned, and carefully kept my hands away from his mouth. The warriors had managed to restrain the other pack members, but then two more of the warriors howled and dashed at Jasmine.
Others jumped on them, and I shouted, “Don’t let them bite you!”
The priestess dragged Jasmine away from the glass doors, and a little while later, the nuns came out, trembling but determined. As we struggled to keep the possessed pack members restrained, the nuns flitted from person to person, shoving a metal funnel into their mouth, then pouring in a sweet-smelling tea.
Slowly, the pack members stopped fighting so hard. Renz panted under my weight, then he went limp.
I didn’t want to shift off him in case he turned violent again, but I cautiously moved away. He remained docile, thanks to the tea. The nuns brought out torn strips of fabric then, and we bound all the possessed pack members, taking special care to wrap their mouths so they couldn’t bite us unexpectedly.
We managed to get them to the prison, but when we got them into their cells, we found a problem. With this group, therewere no more empty cells. I didn’t dare put more than one in a cell at a time, but where were we going to house any future pack members that got possessed?
And I was the only alpha left. What was going to happen if I was taken by the darkness, too?
